Volunteers from all over the Gold Country Region will gather this weekend in support of Sound the Alarm, the nationwide Red Cross effort to help reduce the number of deaths and injuries from home fires.

Nationwide, the Red Cross will Sound the Alarm through a series of smoke alarm installation and fire safety events in more than 100-high-risk communities. From April 28 through May 13, Red Cross volunteers and partners will install 100,000 free smoke alarms. Our goal in the Gold Country Region is 1,000 alarm installations. These events are part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which since 2014 has helped save lives through smoke alarm installations and home fire safety education in thousands of communities.

Locally, teams will be installing free smoke alarms in the following locations:

The Red Cross invites the public to volunteer with Sound the Alarm installation events by signing up at soundthealarm.org.

The Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters a year, the majority of which are home fires. Home fires represent a significant threat to our communities, which is why the Red Cross launched the nationwide Home Fire Campaign and rallied an army of volunteers, donors, and partners to canvass high-risk neighborhoods, install free smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms and help families create escape plans.

“Home fires are the biggest disaster threat we face, killing seven people in this country every day,” said Stephen Walsh, Red Cross Regional Communications Director. “Here in the Gold Country Region alone, we responded to 621 home fires in Fiscal Year 2017. Please help us Sound the Alarm by volunteering to install smoke alarms in your community, making a financial contribution, or taking steps to protect your own family from home fires.”